The Scarlet Paladin

The Scarlet Seraphs were urged to join the guardswomen for breakfast, leading to another celebration of their victory. This one was a lot shorter, due to something none of the Scarlet Seraphs were expecting. Rebecca interrupted the jovial celebration by handing out wreaths to the members of Claire’s party. Five were given out, one to Claire, one to each twin, then to Ursa and Hannah.

They were confused for only a moment until they realized what these flower wreaths were for. Claire looked at the one she was handed; it had the name of the previous Captain at the top. “Captain Taylor Reynolds.” She was shocked to find that Rebecca shared her last name.

“Captain?” Claire said too quietly. She was busy assembling her guards. It was Gina who noticed Claire. “Captain?”

Gina held the wreath with Claire, giving her a small, somber smile. She took a deep breath before explaining. “Her older sister. Becca… wanted to focus on killing the monster before grieving or dealing with her emotions. And, she didn’t want to bog down the briefing by telling you her story.”

Claire could feel tears well in her eyes. She fought them back, knowing how hard it was to lose a sibling. “I-I’m sorry. Had we gotten here earl-”

“Don’t,” Gina shook her head. She took another deep breath. “We requested help from our esteemed Lady two months ago when it first attacked. We only made the request after losing people…”

“Still, I wish we could have arrived sooner.”

“Taylor believed too much in the 'Chain of Command.’ She put too much faith in those above her, but they failed her.” Gina reached out and wiped the tear running down Claire’s face. “Blame them, not yourself.”

Claire nodded. She composed herself after taking a deep breath. “Our esteemed Lady took my brother from me, too. I know the pain you two are going through. Though he was recently confirmed to be alive.”

Gina’s smile widened. “That’s good to hear. Please. Please kick that sorry noble’s ass for us.”

“I will,” Claire smiled. “I promise.”

“Don’t tell Becca I said that,” Gina giggled. “She wants to honor her sister and not disrespect her superiors. Well, at least for now, to honor her sister.”

“Okay, I won’t,” Claire smiled. She didn’t voice her concerns about being worthy to hold the wreath, since she knew there was a reason. Gina let go of the wreath and walked over to her wife.

“Oh, and Becca told me about your promise,” Gina stopped. She turned back towards Claire and bowed her head. “We’ll be waiting for you to make good on your promise.”

“I intend to,” Claire nodded. “And all the other oaths I’ve made.”

With that, Gina grabbed onto her wife’s arm. The two guided the Scarlet Seraphs to the graves of the fallen guards. There were withering flowers and wreaths already that several guardswomen were cleaning up. They cleared the dying flowers and wreaths, replacing them with new flowers.

“We thought it would be fitting to have you gals place new wreaths on them,” Rebecca said with a somber smile. “You helped us avenge them.”

Claire shook her head. She held the wreath towards Rebecca. “It shouldn’t just be me. It’s your sister.”

Rebecca hesitated. She reached out her hand and shakily held the wreath. “I disagree. My duty should come before that. But, thank you.”

“Worry about your duty after you grieve.”

“She’d want you to.” Hannah insisted. Her voice had a mix of seriousness and sadness that Claire hadn’t heard before. It seemed to mean a bit more coming from a knight, because at first, it looked like Rebecca would refuse.

“Okay,” Rebecca sighed. “Not like I was very good at following her example anyway…”

“Becca!” Gina elbowed Rebecca, but she didn’t even flinch. She just gripped the wreath tightly as she held back her tears.

“I’ll do better,” Rebecca said, mostly to herself. “I promise you, Tay.”

Claire walked with Rebecca to Taylor’s grave. They, with the rest of Claire’s party, placed the wreaths down on the fallen guards. The rest of the guards surrounded them, saluting with a fist over their hearts. They placed the wreaths down on the matching graves.

The Scarlet Serpahs were directed to stand by the graves, then Catherine said a prayer aloud for the fallen women. It was a common prayer for the dead, one that asked Marcellus to guide their souls to paradise. One that Claire had heard several times over the years. But hearing His name made her flinch.

For a moment, she thought of the goblin man they’d met and his connection to the death God. But she quickly pushed her thoughts to the side. It was disrespectful to think about that at the moment.

After her prayer, the guards took their time to say their final good-byes to their comrades. Each one took a moment to pray or set a flower down for them. The Scarlet Seraphs waited patiently for them to finish. Once the last woman set her last flower down, they directed Claire and her party back towards their carriage.

It was a silent walk back to the carriage and the fort they established for the Chimera. Most of it was in silence as the guards reflected on their losses. They passed a group of elderly women, who Claire assumed were the parents of the fallen women. Several of them were crying and barely reacted to the group. She felt her chest tighten after seeing the women grieve. It reminded her of her mothers after Ryley was taken.

“Again, thank you,” Rebecca said when they got back to their carriage. “You saved our city from further destruction and let our fallen loved ones rest.”

Claire nodded and offered the Captain a hug. She accepted it, letting Claire whisper in her ear. “I have no doubt you’ll live up to your sister’s expectations.”

“Thank you, Claire, that’s very kind of you,” Rebecca said after a deep breath. She pulled back from the embrace with a conflicted look. “I hope you are right…”

Claire smiled at her and nodded, then she offered a hug to Gina. This turned into her giving hugs to all the other guards. Sadly, there were too many names for her to remember. But she did her best to help the women through their grief. So did several of her lovers. The twins and Lily joined Claire in embracing the grieving women in hugs.

Claire took a moment to watch Rebecca finally break down and sob into her wife’s arms. She held out until the women under her guardswomen were slowly dismissed, not wanting them to see her in that state. Claire still felt a pang of guilt for not making it here sooner, for not saving Captain Taylor. But Rebecca is right, they asked for help months ago. It never came.

Unfortunately, they did have to go soon. Their next target was equally dire, since the bandits threatened human lives. Plus, they did have to track down Samira before she was discovered by others. It felt wrong, but they had to get going.

They were sent off with more food from Gina’s parents and some extra reward money. Claire watched from the back of the carriage as the group of guardswomen slowly shrank into the horizon. Then, Duvain’s buildings disappeared.

Claire had a mix of emotions after the city disappeared. She wanted to help them more, to help them rebuild or build up their guards. But she had to trust Rebecca to do that. Then, there was their dream of having kids. She would return after dealing with Lady Lloyd and make good on her promise. It wasn’t just her libido or her attraction to them, but her duty to.

“Ursa, any ideas on tracking Samira?” Jasmine asked. Her voice cut through the silence and pulled Claire out of her thoughts.

“I’d need something of hers that I can smell to track her,” Ursa pursed her lips. She stared at the ground for a brief moment. “Might be able to communicate with a local wolf pack.”

“You can talk to wolves?” Hannah asked. She didn’t know much about Ursa beyond her lycanthropy. “That’s badass.”

“Through Rava’s magic, yes,” Ursa nodded. Claire swore her tanned face reddened, but it was hard to tell. “Not naturally.”

“What do you need to communicate with them?” Jasmine asked, continuing on the important subject. “Anything to prepare?”

“Wolfsbane. Need to burn it,” Ursa said, shaking off the burning sensation on her face. “If there are packs in the area, they’ll follow Lady Rava’s magic to me.”